1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for automatically sewing and finishing both ends of each piece of towel fabric cut off from a long material fabric and, more particularly, to a method of and an apparatus for forming first and second folded parts as well as a three-ply part including the above two parts at the end of the towel fabric, and sewing the three-ply part in such manner that both ends of the first and the second folded parts do not jut out from the three-ply part.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The manufacture of towel fabric comprises processes of cutting a long material fabric into pieces, folding each end of cut piece in three, and then finishing by sewing the folded part so as to wrap up the cut end internally.
In the case of seaming the three-ply part as above, a simple sewing operation without application of any expedient means causes the cut end corners 22 to jut out from crosswise both ends of the three-ply part 21 as shown in FIG. 1.
That is to say, a process of finishing the end of the towel fabric consists of folding the towel end in two, folding additionally the two-folded part for forming a three-ply part 21, and stitching crosswise the edge of the two-folded part to the ground fabric part, which covers the folded part and is laid down as a bottom during processing, with sewing thread 23.
The cut end, therefore, is made free in crosswise movement within the three-ply part 21 and wider than other parts because of the elongation thereof caused when cut.
Accordingly, simple sewing of the three-ply part 21 causes protrusion of the cut end corners 22 to crosswise both sides as described above and is followed by such problems as affecting the shape of the finished product as well as reducing the commercial value thereof.
A way of solving such problems is to crosswise stretch the ground fabric part laid at the bottom when the three-ply part 21 is sewn and, while keeping it stretched, perform stitching so as to adapt the cut end corners 22 to lie within the width of the towel fabric.
Finishing of the towel fabric end including folding and sewing has depended on manual operaton so far and is attended by disadvantages as requiring skilled workmanship and high cost for operation as a result of low efficiency.
An operation to crosswise stretch the ground fabric part only during sewing is very troublesome and requires a length of time, resulting in raising costs for finishing and being inapplicable to other kinds of towel than those of high grade.
In seaming the three-ply part by means of a sewing machine, the sewing thread 23 must be prevented from being unsewn from both edges of the towel fabric and, therefore, backstitches have so far been applied to both edges of the sewn part.
Provision of a device for automatic backstitching, in which the feeding direction of the sewing machine needle is reversed at the start and end of stitching so as to obtain lapping stitches in an appropriate length, makes the fabric conveying system extremely complex in structure, large in size, and high in cost for production.
When making up a piece of towel by cutting off this piece from an elongate material fabric, weft is broken if the cutting direction is not parallel with the running direction thereof, whereby entanglement of weft threads takes place, or puckering occurs during use. Puckering is undesirable because it deforms the towel into a diamond shape, even if sewing is complete.
Since the towel fabric is soft and readily deformed, and, particularly, weft thereof sinuates in various ways, cutting of the fabric in the direction parallel with the weft is substantially impossible but a quite important factor for increasing the commercial value of the towel.